Back to Basics

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Preface: 
I try not to blog too much about my pregnancy on my weight loss blog, but I could not help myself this time. Part of me almost didn’t even want to post this, because my problems feel so minor compared to what other people are facing. I am simply trying to get some things off my mind, so please bear with me. 

This week I reached the halfway point in my pregnancy!! That's right I am officially 20 weeks!! I cannot wait for our little Olivia to be here with us!! As I look back over the last 20 weeks, they have been extremely so amazing and at the same time very challenging. Please do not misunderstand me, my pregnancy is going VERY well. I love being pregnant and to be honest I have had nothing to complain about so far. I am extremely blessed.

The most challenging part of being pregnant for me has been gaining my pregnancy weight. Gaining my baby weight has been very mentally and emotionally challenging for me.  I know that I need to gain this weight for Olivia and I am willing to do that. However, I want to be able to gain this weight in a healthy way.

Over the last 20 weeks, I have not been gaining my weight while maintaining a healthy lifestyle. As a result, I have gained more weight than I wanted to in these last 20 weeks. If I had gained this weight while maintaining a healthy lifestyle that would have been one thing. However, over the last couple of weeks I have felt myself letting go and allowing myself to have foods that I have not eaten in years.

So, this week, I have decided to go back to the basics that I learned while I was on Weight Watchers. I am not doing this to lose weight. Leading a healthy lifestyle is important to me, but I have not been doing that very well over the last few weeks. I've been so caught up in my pregnancy weight gain and the number on the scale. As a result, I have forgotten the things that are most important to me. When all is said and done and Olivia is with us, I want to know that I lead the healthiest lifestyle possible while I was pregnant.

Here are some of the basics that I am going back to this week.

1. Weighing and Measuring my Foods - I do not think you can lead a healthy lifestyle without knowing how much you are eating and putting into your body. I want to know how much I have eaten, so that I do not go overboard.

2. Tracking - I LOVE tracking. This is one of the main reasons that I was able to lose my weight in 2009. I want to write down everything that goes into my body and continue to remain in control of my food choices.

3. Exercise - I have been faithful to walk throughout my pregnancy and I want to continue to do this for the next 20 weeks.

4. Making Meals at Home - In the last few months we have eaten out a lot. Part of the reason for this is that I have been too tired to cook. Hence the reason for the lack of recipe review blog posts. However, I want to be able to plan out our menu for the week and stick to it. I want to make sure that we eat at home as much as possible, because I know how my food is prepared and how many pointsplus+ it is.

5. Practicing Self-Control - This is an art form that I had down before I become pregnant. However, I've been saying yes to so my foods that I have not been able to say no and stop myself from eating too much. I want to remember to listen to my hunger signals and eat until I am satisfied. This will require me to being to practice self-control again.

Are you struggling in your weight loss journey? Maybe it's time for you to join me and go back to the basics too!